The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ashley Judd is getting a lot of attention for the right reason. It’s her essay in The Daily Beast that slams the media for the speculation, assault and accusations about her “puffy face.” Her essay is filled with bold integrity.

It all started a few weeks ago when Ashley Judd, 43, was on tour promoting her new TV show, Missing. Her face looked “puffy.” The media went right for the needles and knives, speculating that she had work done. Sad, but not a surprise – she is a woman with a puffy face, what other explanation? Judd’s rep set the record straight: Judd’s face was puffy because she was battling a serious sinus infection and the medication was making her face puffy.

But the media bodysnarking didn’t end there. And neither did Judd. She did what all women should do--she spoke out--not just for herself, but for all girls and women:

The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about.

I reached out to Julie Zeilinger, undergraduate student at Barnard College, Columbia University, and Founder and Editor of the FBomb.org, a feminist blog/community for teens and young adults who care about their rights and want to be heard. She's also the author of the new book: A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism Is Not A Dirty Word. I asked her for her take. In a brief break between classes Julie wrote:

"Yesterday afternoon, I, like millions of other college students across the country, logged on to Facebook as a pathetic attempt at procrastination. I expected to flip through some of my friends’ newly posted pictures, maybe like somebody’s status– the usual – but instead was faced with something extraordinary. My newsfeed was inundated with links to an article written by Ashley Judd—the kind of article that, as a young feminist, I have been waiting to read for a very long time.

In response to a swell of criticism regarding her “puffy” appearance, or what feminist blog Jezebel has cleverly titled “Judd-puff-maggedon 2012,” Judd recently penned an article for The Daily Beast, calling out the media for what she saw as “pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic” commentary about her appearance, stating “The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality…and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about.” And while this well-composed, insightful article has clearly resonated with all who are sick of seeing women skewered in the media for their appearance, who are frustrated with our society’s unattainable standards of beauty, I think it is especially meaningful for young women my age.

I am willing to bet that my generation feels more pressure to have the “perfect body” than any generation before us. We are not only inundated with images of anorexic, photoshopped models, but moreover these messages have been ingrained within us: the way we view our bodies is intrinsically tied to our feelings of self worth. We feel that to be fat is to have failed, and in a society that pushes women to compete against each other, this is unacceptable. And yet, most of us don’t see this as a feminist issue. While we are incredibly unhappy with constantly feeling like we just don’t measure up, we have largely accepted it as the status quo. Which is why Ashley Judd’s article is so important.

It is vital that a celebrity wrote this article. As the center of society’s objectification of women, famous women are the emblem and most extreme and overt cases of how our culture systematically dismembers women, encouraging the world to value them only as much as their worst flaw. Young girls read tabloid magazines and gossip blogs that treat those famous women so horrendously, and because those very women seem to accept that treatment, seem to absorb it and continue to live up to unachievable standards (though their personal experience is, as demonstrated by Judd, quite the opposite) young girls internalize the idea that they must, too. For a woman at the very heart of this issue to finally speak out, to finally demand that what the media is doing to her – and therefore, all women – is beyond being not okay, but sexist discrimination and ultimately intolerable, is hugely important for young women to witness. We have a role model – a woman who is beautiful by normative standards, yet rejects such treatment and denigrating appraisal based on her looks.

And if simply taking a stand against such treatment as a prominent figure weren’t enough, Judd goes a step forward, explaining why such treatment is unacceptable, even daring to use words like “misogyny” and “feminism.” She gives young women readers the vocabulary to express what, internally, they’ve felt all along: this issue is not just about personal insecurities and struggles. It is much bigger than any one of us alone. We are not alone. She gives my generation tools with which we can evaluate this issue and to fight back.

This may have been a conversation feminists have been having for some time now, but because Ashley Judd spoke, the world is finally listening. Specifically, young girls who thought they were alone in their beliefs that the way women are eviscerated by the media, and in turn the impact of that treatment on us, is wrong are waking up. It may be going a little far to say that Ashley Judd’s response to her “puffy face” has sparked a revolution, but I think it’s safe to say she has given us an incredible gift. I only hope that more celebrities follow in her footsteps. I only hope that more young women follow in theirs."